Carnivorous Plant Care: Venus Flytrap, Pitcher Plant & Sundew

Want plants that do more than sit there? Carnivorous plants (720+ species) eat insects—fascinating, useful, and available at specialty nurseries.

Popular Types

Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula)

Hinged jaws with trigger hairs. Snap shut on prey, absorb juices, discard husk.

Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea)

Alien-looking. Modified leaves form deep pitchers with downward hairs. Insects fall in, drown in fluid, get digested.

Sundew (Drosera capensis)—My Favorite

Sticky, enzyme-rich syrup on glandular hairs. Insects stick, struggle, get digested slowly. Misting helps syrup production in dry air.

Universal Care Rules

• High humidity, consistent moisture—tropical bog conditions
• Grow in pure sphagnum peat moss, kept wet
• Distilled water only—tap chemicals harm them
• No fertilizer ever—nutrients come solely from prey
• Nutrient-free medium essential

Setup

Fresh sphagnum peat in a bowl. Plant at original depth (shallow—minimal roots). Fill with distilled water. Treat as bog plant most of year.

They'll catch fruit flies and soil gnats naturally. Houseplant health often improves. Never feed Venus flytraps hamburger.

Winter Dormancy

Low maintenance: reduced water, dormancy period—like other tropicals.

Expand your indoor garden with these unique, hardworking plants.